The 8 Best Pastry Bags of 2023

What to Look for in a Pastry Bag

Size

Pastry bags come in a few basic sizes. The small size (8-inch and 10-inch) is mostly for detail decorating work; the medium size (12-inch and 14-inch) is for piping work, decorating, and filling; the large size (16-inch and 18-inch) is for piping, filling, forming cakes or pastries, and adding toppings; and the extra-large size (20-inch and over) is mostly used for shaping cakes or pastries. It’s important to choose the right size for what you want to do.

Material

The material a pastry bag is made of determines its strength and flexibility—both are important considerations. A bag has to be strong enough to not break open under pressure, while additionally being flexible enough to be twisted fairly easily during the work process.

Materials used for commercial pastry bags are cotton, plastic, silicone, polyurethane, nylon, polyester, and rubber, either alone or in some sort of combination. The outside surface of the pastry bag should be comfortable to the touch and not slippery. The lining can be the same material as the outside or different, but it’s important that ingredients, particularly if they have butter, oil, or sugar as a component, do not stick to the inside or embed in it, but instead are able to be cleaned off the surface thoroughly if the bag is being reused. 

Specialized Use

You might hear a pastry bag being called different terms, such as a decorating bag or piping bag. For the most part, if it’s called a pastry bag, it has a good amount of flexibility in the tasks it performs well. A decorating bag is generally better at decorating work on cakes or cookies. A piping bag is a generic term that can be used for any category of pastry bag, so always check the details.

Ease of Cleaning

It may go without saying, but if the pastry bags are marked as disposable, you can throw them away after one use. That said, many disposable pastry bags can potentially be used anywhere from one to three times and even recycled.

Most reusable pastry bags are best cleaned in the dishwasher after being rinsed under hot water to remove as much product as possible. Be sure to check the manufacturer's directions to see which method is best for yours, but do wash them as soon as possible and always check to see if they require further cleaning. Always be sure to air dry your pastry bag thoroughly, as well: first turned inside out, then outside in.

FAQs

What is the best way to fill a pastry bag/piping bag?

The best way we've found involves having a wide-mouth jar or tall glass keep your bag vertical while filling the bag via a spatula. We have step-by-step instructions with photographs for that process in this helpful guide on how to fill a pastry bag.

Can you use a pastry bag/piping bag without a coupler?

Usually yes, depending on the bag. You can also use tips in most bags without a coupler if it’s pushed down securely into the open tip to fit. Just be gentle with the squeezing or everything will be pushed out at once.

How do you reuse a pastry bag/piping bag?

Remove any leftover ingredients in the bag, rinse the outside of the bag well with hot soapy water, turn it inside out, and clean the inside well with hot soapy water. Remove any couplers and tips, and set them aside to clean separately. If the bag is dishwasher safe, leave it inside out and put it through a long cycle. If washing by hand, soak it in hot soapy water and wash or scrub to remove any ingredients still on the surface. Be sure to clean inside and outside, and then prop or hang to completely dry both inside and out.

Can I use any kind or size of pastry bag/piping bag for anything I want to decorate?

You may be able to do it, but it might not work out very well. For best results, check that you’ve purchased a bag that has been defined as being the right kind for the job you want to do.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Karen Resta is a writer specializing in food culture and history, cooking, pastries, and restaurants. She's also a former pastry chef and now spends a lot of her free time baking at home (and loves to use pastry bags for everyday meals because they’re so fun and easy) and recommends quality within your given budget.

Allison Wignall, who updated this roundup, is a writer who focuses on food and travel. During her globetrotting, she has tasted some of the sweetest confections, from macarons in Paris to fresh gourmet chocolates in Ecuador. Her work has been featured in publications, such as Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, and Southern Living.

Siobhan Wallace has been a commerce editor at Dotdash Meredith since 2021. She also updated this roundup.